The theories and opinions of the German philosopher Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno (1903-1969) on popular music and the culture industry are still highly influential in the domain of media studies. His thoughts about these subjects were very critical, pessimistic even. Adorno analysed the workings of the culture industry in terms of "standardization" and used the concept of "pseudo-individualization" to describe its effects on the listeners. To understand what he meant by these qualifications, the best you can do is to read his own writings. Here below you'll find links to some of these: On popular music, The culture industry, and The culture industry reconsidered.